The myth of Equality

Author: Ken Wytsma

Genre: Nonfiction

Original publication date: 2017

Book description: Is privilege real or imagined? It's clear that issues of race and equality have come to the forefront in our nation's consciousness. Every week yet another incident involving racial tension splashes across headlines and dominates our news feeds. But it's not easy to unpack the origins of these tensions, and perhaps we wonder whether any of these issues really has anything to do with us. Ken Wytsma, founder of the Justice Conference, understands these questions. He has gone through his own journey of understanding the underpinnings of inequality and privilege. In this timely, insightful book Wytsma unpacks what we need to know to be grounded in conversations about today's race-related issues. And he helps us come to a deeper understanding of both the origins of these issues and the reconciling role we are called to play as witnesses of the gospel. Inequality and privilege are real. The Myth of Equality opens our eyes to realities we may have never realized were present in our society and world. And we will be changed for the better as a result.

Thoughts:

This is a work written by a religious person calling out the inconsistency of the people's beliefs. I have always found it hard to believe that people who preach Christianity or actually any religion can be so blind to the actual issues of others. It is such a big blindfold they wear and ignore the true injustice people around them face. 

This is a very short read, it is not a book that gives you something you can't see on your own but sometimes people ignore it unless you slap it with it in the face. This is a slight light hit, it is nothing but a few remarks people try really hard to ignore.

It is divided in 3 parts.

Part 1 gives us in a very short way, the history of race and attitude in the USA. We get a few descriptions about immigration policies that favored "white" Europeans, the way "white" was defined by law, history of racism in European thought, slavery, and a few details of Jim Crow and how those laws were enforced in the whole nation. 

It is a huge topic but we get only a few bits that can open up your interest and encourage more in-depth research of the topic. 

Part 2 touches more on the aspect of religion and the lack of intervention in the injustices that took place. It is a bit of calling out towards religions especially the Christianity he is part of, but in reality, most religious institutions have blame to go around as no religion made any public protest as an institution against how people were marginalized and oppressed. The people who have been oppressed in USA, well the list is long Asians, Latinos, Black people... The country has a long list of injustices towards groups of people for no other reason than being not white.

Part 3 discusses how white Christians need to be made more aware of the racial biases, allow diversification of the positions of power. This means that people have to go out of their way to listen to those that are in facing the racial oppression by "ignorance", the society as a whole needs to begin the dismantling of privilege and stop upholding the belief that there is equality in the country. It clearly needs to be accepted, as in any other problem you can't fight something until you accept that there is in fact a problem, to begin with. 

This is not something people should ignore, and reading a bit more about the topic is highly recommended.  Ignoring and waiting for the world to fix itself has never worked, so let's get off our privileged beds and do something about it!

I am not saying Wystman is the expert and the one who has all the answers, he is one of the man people out there who sees the problem and tries to do his little part to fight it. 

Many people were shaken last month, and the movement Black lives matter had a bit of recognition, but let's not ignore the truth. The movement is not new, and it didn't suddenly stop existing now that the hype around it has lessened.